Debris, such as construction debris, wood and/or other organic or inorganic materials are often ground in a large recyclers/grinder machines in order to size reduce the debris into useful uniform smaller particles. Oftentimes, however, a piece of debris will be encountered that is too large or shaped such that it cannot be fed through a horizontal grinder without an initial reduction. For example, in the case of clearing trees from land, some of the more difficult materials to reduce are the tree stumps, roots and/or the large butt end of the tree. While these objects may be able to be handled by a tub grinder, they can be too large to pass through most types of horizontal grinders.
Currently, jaw- or scissor-type shearing devices are used with recyclers to break down large objects before feeding them into a horizontal grinder. These shearing devices are typically mounted on a backhoe or excavator arm and are operated with the aid of the machine's hydraulics. These shearing implements, however, require the use of a second machine or limit the usefulness of the machine with the shearing attachment for feeding material to the horizontal grinder.